Justice News

Washington Man Arrested, Charged with Defrauding Alaskans Out of Approximately $2.7 Million

His Wife was also Arrested, Charged with Social Security Fraud

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a Washington man has been charged in Alaska with 11 counts of wire fraud and eight counts of money laundering. His wife has been charged with one count of social security fraud in Washington. They were both arrested this morning in Washington.

Floyd Jay Mann, Jr., 55, of Puyallup, Washington, is charged in a 19-count indictment returned in Anchorage with a scheme to defraud victims in Alaska. His wife, Cheryl Mann, 51, also of Puyallup, Washington, is charged with one count of defrauding the Social Security Administration in an indictment returned in Seattle, Washington.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Aunnie Steward, who presented the case against Floyd Mann to the Alaska grand jury, Floyd Jay Mann, Jr. defrauded Alaskans of approximately $2.7 million by falsely leading the victims to believe that he was the recipient of a multimillion-dollar settlement from a class-action lawsuit with a pharmaceutical company. Mann told victims that if they helped to pay Mann’s medical bills and other lawsuit-related expenses, the victims would be paid back plus a substantial return on their money when Mann’s multimillion-dollar settlement was released by the court. In fact, Mann did not use the victim’s money to pay medical bills and there was no lawsuit settlement, and instead Mann used the money he obtained from the victims to gamble at a casino and win over $1 million over the course of the scheme.

According to Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Diggs, who presented the case against Cheryl Mann to the Western District of Washington grand jury, during the course of Floyd Mann’s scheme, he and his wife Cheryl Mann and their son collected approximately $56,000 in need-based Supplemental Security Income benefits. Cheryl Mann was the designated payee for Floyd Mann and their son and responsible for reporting any changes in the household income or assets. During this time, Cheryl Mann won approximately $125,000 at a casino. That income, as well as the funds obtained by her husband, would have disqualified the Manns from the public assistance they received.

For Floyd Mann’s charges, the law provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years’ incarceration and a $500,000 fine or both. For Cheryl Mann’s charge the law provides for a maximum sentence of five years’ incarceration and a $250,000 fine or both. Under federal sentencing statutes, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

“Fraud comes in all shapes and sizes, but this particular fraud is rather peculiar. The accused not only bilked millions of dollars from Alaskans in a well-concocted scheme, they further squandered the ill-gotten gains on gambling all while collecting Social Security benefits for which they no longer qualified. Unfortunately for the defendants, IRS CI Special Agents are expertly and uniquely skilled to follow the money in these and other types of financial crimes,” stated Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon of IRC Criminal Investigation.

The IRS Criminal Investigations, FBI, and Social Security Office of Inspector General, conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in the case.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.